Egg candling booth



May 17, 1949 P. J. BLAcKwELL 2,470,462

I EGG CAN-BLING' BOOTH Filed May l5, 1 946 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 17 1949- P. J. BLAcKwELL 2,470,462

1 EGG CANDLING BooTH Y Filed.May 15, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 l l "mn-#r L May'17, 1949. P. J. BLAcKwELL" 2,470,462

EGG CANDLING BOOTH y Filed May 15, 194s Y 4 sheets-sheet 3 P. J. BLACKWELL EGG GANDLING BOOTH May 17, 1949.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 15, i946 Patented May 17, 1949 EGG CANDLING BOTH Preston J. Blackwell, Emerson, N. J., assigner, by mesne assignments, to Robert Gair Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 1.5, 1946, Serial No. 669,748

4 Claims. l

This invention relates generally to the candling of eggs-an art which is practiced today ina way which differs very little from that which has continued through many, many years. In large establishments where candl'ing operations proceed on a big scale, it is customary to provide la relatively dark room for a number of operators, usually women, who must stand continuously while performing their work. The cases of eggs to be candled are moved about eXterlorly o'f the room by handlers who place the cases within reach of the operators who then remove the eggs, for grading, one at Aa time, with the aid of the usual candling light. As each case 'becomes empty, it should be moved or shifted to an out of the way position. The eggs, as candled, are deposited in open cartons (if good), in llers (if spoiled), or in other cases (if classified as undergrade or as craX), As each carton or case is lled, it is moved by pushing on to a conveyor to be' removed from the room. The facilities provided for eachV of vthe operators are much the same; each is required to take certain steps to move into convenient ,position for different phases of the work; each operator must reach over from time to time in order to move or grasp the articles or objects with which she is working; and -each is obliged to remain standing during' this entire operation. Because of the tiring and. generally unsatisfactory conditions attending the operation of can-filing as now performed, considerable fatigue is experienced during the course of the day. Although rest periods may be provided, the quality of the work inevitably suffers' as weariness increases. This is `particularly noticeable toward the close of the day. Because of' these various reasons, this type of work is not attractive, and even those who have undertaken to do it readily accept other work, so that the labor turnover is large and costly.

Realizing all these present-day shortcomings which attend the art of candling as now vpracticed" in large institutions, I have sought by my invention to simplify, facilitate, and economize on the movements and operations necessary in the candling of eggs. As a primary consideration, Iprovide a comfortable seat' in which the operator may `remain `continuously while performing the necessary duties. Every facility required in the performance of the Work is maintained convenientl'y at hand, and when replacements, shifting of materials, cases or further Supplies are needed, these may be brought to hand or removed with but very little eiiort, and without any extended reaching or movement on the part 2 of the operator. This desirable objective is attained because of a special and unique arrangement of' cases, cartons, etc., as well as the supports and the delivery and conveying means which I have provided. Each operator may work alone in a booth with all needed facilities conveniently at hand. As a result of the means thus provided, an operator who remains continuously seated during her work will undergo little or no fatigue, and experience has shown that the quality of her work will be satisiactory and uniform over an extended Work day period.

As indicative of a means whereby the art of candling maybe practiced according to my invention, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings an exemplication thereof wherein;

'Figure I is an elevational view of the exterior of two in-line booths, one of which has its Walls partly 4broken away to exhibit the interior thereof;

Fig. 2 isl an enlarged fragmentary section transversely of the booth, looking from a point rearwardly of. the seat therein;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section, taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a detail in section', taken on line 4-44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a detail in section through the rear end wall of the multiple booths, showing the conveyor chain at `its point of reversal exteriorly of and beyond the end booth;

Fig. 6` is a detail in. vertical section ofthe carton conveyor at one of the junction points where a branch chute leads' to the adjacent booth;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged fragmentary detail, in section, of the delivery end of the carton chute; and

Fig. 8 is a detail, more or less diagrammatic, of the vsignal' system by which notice is automatically given of an approaching .deficiency in the supply of cartons available for an operator within one of the candling booths.

vIn the preferred arrangement, multiple booths are provided; that is, vtwo or more booths are arranged inline so as to be served by a common conveyor system. Most, if not all, of the mechanism herein to Abe described is duplicated for each booth, so that a description of but one will suiice. The booths are sufticiently closed to exclude much of the light from the surrounding room, appropriate walls IU being provided for this purpose. A door Il communicates with eachbooth to permit .access thereto.

At apoint which is more or less central ofv eaclr booth, l' provide a swivel or `seat A. which may be mounted on swivel casters l5 to facilitate movement of the chair out from one booth into another, in case the operator is to be transferred to another location. It is important that the chair be comfortable, and for this purpose a so-called posture chair is suggested. Such a chair may be adjusted to meet the requirements of the operator who may then sit and work in a straight, upright position over a considerable time with a minimum of fatigue.

The operator, when seated, will occupy a position directly in front of a candling light B of any approved construction. This includes a casing with a peep opening I6 facing the operator and before which each egg is successively held to determine its quality and grade. The uncandled eggs may be contained in the usual case C, centrally divided by a partition I1 which provides two compartments in each of which the eggs are packed within fillers with intervening flats, arranged in tiers from bottom to top. This case, as well as a second case in reserve and in end to end relation therewith, may be moved endwise into the booth through an opening I8 of only slightly larger size. Each case is supported in an inclined position upon rollers 2i) so as to maintain its open upper side tilted toward the operator. So that these cases may move freely in an endwise direction while remaining on the roller support, I provide along their forward sides a second s'et of rollers 2|. support is provided for the cases whereby each may be successively shifted, endwise of itself, with a minimum of effort from a point exteriorly of the booth into a position directly before the operator, with its two compartments disposed below and on opposite sides of the candling light. The case remains tilted always toward the operator whereby to minimize the distance of reach for removal of eggs therefrom. When each case is empty, it is then ready for use elsewhere or to be lifted on to a conveyor (later to be described) at the operators side which is opposite that from which the case entered the booth. The second case of uncandled eggs still held in reserve is then pulled by the operator to an operative position directly before her, and this is followed later by the handler, who is in attendance eXteriorly of the booths, placing another reserve case on the roller support 2li-2| within reach of the operator within the booth. The presence of one or more cases on the roller support 2li- 2l acts to exclude much of the light which otherwise might enter through the opening I8 into the booth.

To the same side of the operator is another roller support 23 which exteriorly of the booth is horizontal, and therewithin is slanted downwardly with a stop 24 at its lower end (see Fig. 4). This support is to receive a case D having opposite sides cut-away to provide, in effect, a rack wherein may be stacked collapsed fillers. When full, this rack is pushed out through a booth opening 25 which it substantially occupies to exclude light from passing into the booth. In this position of the rack exteriorly of the booth the handler will tie into a bundle the collapsed fillers which are then removed. The empty rack is then pushed in again to a position beside the operator within the booth wherein it remains tilted toward her to facilitate placing of empty collapsed fillers therewithin.

At the opposite side of the operator is another roller support 26 for cases E, in end to end relation, one to receive crax and the other eggs which are undergrade, It will be understood that the term crax, as commonly employed in the trade,

In this way an angled roller n is used herein to define an egg with a broken shell. This support which is elongated to extend forwardly and rearwardly is also inclined to tilt each case toward the operator. At the far side of this support, about in linewith the top surface of its rollers, are swivel casters 21 arranged in one or more rows. These casters lie about opposite the lower run of a chain conveyor 28 which moves in channels 29 supported upon a framework 30. By sliding a case E sidewise of itself and endwise of its supporting rollers 26, and then over the swivel casters 21, the case is brought to position upon the chain conveyor which takes it away to a distant station. This is the procedure when one of the cases E is lled. An empty case E to receive further crax or undergrades may be brought by the conveyor to a position opposite its roller support at which point the operator may draw the empty case toward her with little or no effort, so as to bring it to an inclined position of rest upon the roller support and against a stop 31 which may be formed conveniently from an angle iron, as best shown in Fig. 2. It is contemplated also that empty cases C from which eggs have been removed for candling may be available for transfer to the roller support 26 whenever needed.

In practice two cases, arranged end to end, will normally be positioned on the inclined roller support adjacent the operator. One of these cases will receive undergrade eggs and the other eggs which are cracked. Both of these grades of eggs are commercially in demand, consequently I have provided in the present equipment a suitf able means for supporting and ,conveying cases intended for their reception. When full and removed by the conveyor, an empty case in replacement will usually be available from the roller support 20-2I in front of the operator, since the rate of emptying the cases C containing eggs to be candled usually exceeds substantially the rate at which the cases E are lled with eggs which are undergrade or cracked. The excess of the empty cases C may be placed on the top run of the conveyor for removal to the front end of the booth line.

As the operation of candling proceeds, the good eggs, i. e. the first and second grade eggs, are deposited in separate cellular cartons F. For this purpose I provide, just forwardly of the case C, a way or trough 'w forming a support which extends transversely across the booth. This carton support which is inclined toward the operator may comprise a bottom 33 from which rises a slanting front Wall 34 whose top edge at spaced points is about flush with the corresponding adjacent edge of the case C. This way which is oi a length something greater than that of two cartons may be closed at one end by a wall 35, but at its other end which is open is formed into a downwardly slanted runway 36 which terminates adj acent and slightly above one edge of the lower run of a conveyor belt 3B whereon the filled cartons may be slid from time to time.

The operative positions of two cartons, end to end, are immediately behind the rear wall of the case C, below the candling light, and spaced slightly apart to lie on opposite sides thereof (see Fig. 2). Each carton F will then stand substantially opposite one of the two compartments of the egg case C from which the eggs are successively removed for candling. Each egg which tests up to grade may then be placed in one of the two cartons until all the cells thereof are filled. When this stage is reached, the two car- 7. three grades, so that the way should desirably accommodate a third carton F in addition to the two already noted. In such a case, the extra carton to be filled might be placed at the left end. T-he standard or average run of acceptable eggs will test out perhaps eight or nine times as many first grade eggs as those of the second grade, and an even greater ratio in relation to eggs of the third grade. In such circumstances the carton to the right would probably be used for receiving the top grade eggs since in that position, from which filled cartons are to be moved most often, the distance to the conveyor is least and there is no interference to movement of that carton on to the conveyor at any time. For the same reason, the chute G- standing to the right will be called upon to deliver many times as many empty cartons as the companion chute to the left.

The slider board 154 underlies a belt 60 whose spacing above the board is slightly less than the A normal full width of the empty cartons to be advanced. As shown in Fig. 6, the belt engages the nested cartons, thereby inwardly defiecting their diverging sides, and frictionally advancing the cartons along the slider board to their several destinations. This belt is mounted to travel overhead with respect to the in-line booths, being trained over a pulley 6| at the rear end, and at the forward end making an angular downturn over a pulley 62 to execute a return bend around a pulley G3 which is mounted on a suitable framework at the front end of the aligned booths. The slider board 44 also executes a bend at 66 to proceed downwardly, its lower end 65 terminating close to a platform 65 which is at the delivery end of an automatic carton setting-up machine (not shown).

The lower and inside run of the belt B is trained around a pair of closely spaced idler rolls 68 and over a third idler roll 69 which is disposed above and between the others. By following this tortuous path, the inside run of the belt is maintained away from the slider board a sufficient distance for movement of cartons along the slider board while executing a change in its direction of travel corresponding in general to that of the downwardly curving slider board. The belt is suiiiciently relaxed to follow a curved path, as required, while the cartons are proceeding upwardly over the curved portion of the slider board. A lower belt i8 is mounted to train over a pulley 'll coaxial with the pulley 63, and also over a lower pulley 'l2 which is located close to the end of the slider board adjacent the setting-up machine platform 66. Feeding of the cartons is initiated by the lower belt from which the cartons are transferred to receive feeding engagement from the main belt 6U.

Each case E containing crax or undergrades, after being pushed onto the conveyor chain 28, is advanced lengthwise of the booths and outwardly therebeyond (see Fig. Here it may be deilected laterally onto a table to await removal by one of the handlers in attendance. This chain is trained at one end over upper and lower sprocket wheels 'l5 and lt, mounted on a suitable framework exteriorly of the rear end of the booths, so that the upper and lower runs of the chain will be properly spaced. At its opposite or forward end, the chain is trained over upper and lower sprocket wheels Tl and 18, respectively (see Fig. l). The carton conveyor belt 38 is mounted to travel over pulleys 19 and 8D at opposite ends of the booth system.

For elicient operation of the apparatus herein disclosed, I contemplate the provision of suitable controls exteriorly of the booths at a point relatively close to the platform 66 where an attendant will regularly be stationed so as to be available to manipulate these controls, as necessary. The setting-up machine will be timed to deliver cartons in clusters of perhaps twenty, with a spacing of a foot or so therebetween. In case the output of the setting-up machine is too fast, its operation may be slowed down or temporarily stopped.

At a point in each chute G remote from its delivery end a distance of about ten stacked cartons, I may provide a movable finger 82 here shown as pivoted (see Fig. 8) which may be so weighted as to normally project inwardly of the chute for successive engagement with the proximate sides .of each carton descending there--` through. As long as the carton stack is made up of ten or more cartons, this nger will be held in a retracted position. When the number of such cartons drops below ten, then the finger is free to swing inwardly, and when in this position' closes a gap in an electrical circuit through the wires s and t whereby to energize a warning signal B3 that is located in proximity to the delivery table SS. This signal will apprise the attendant at that point that an identified booth is running short of cartons. By operating a suitable control 84 to close an electrical circuit through the wires m and n which energizes the solenoid for operating a trap door, the next advancing cluster of cartons advancing along the slider board will be switched by gravity into the open chute G to replenish the low stack at that point. In this way the signal automatically given to the machine attendant will call for action whereby a predetermined quantity of empty cartons will be fed into the low-supply chute. During this operation, the candling operator may continue uninterruptedly with her duties without any thought or attention to the problem of supply.

In practicing the art of candling according to my invention, it is possible for each candler to remain seated during all of the movements which are required. No lifting of any case is required, except by handlers who are stationed exteriorly of the booths. The feed of empty cartons proceeds automatically from the machine which sets them up, desirably in clusters to facilitate their movement to the supply chutes where they are stored convenient to the several candling operators. The work which is performed according to this method and apparatus is both expeditious and non-fatiguing since all manual operations are minimized, and this is reflected in a noticeable improvement in the results obtained.

I claim:

1. In a candling apparatus, the combination with a substantially darkened booth wherein is an operators seat, of a tilted support, extending from a point before the operator within the booth to a point exteriorly thereof, for receiving egg cases adapted to be slid endwise thereon successively to a position before and tilted toward the operator, a candling light over said support forwardly of the operators seat, and a second support within the booth alongside said first mentioned support inclined toward the operator adapted to sustain a filler rack in a position tilted toward the operator, there being adjacent openings through one booth wall opposite the two supports, one of said openings conforming to an egg case and the other to a filler rack to be substantially closed by a case and a rack when mounted on said supports thus maintaining the darkened condition within the booth.

2. In a candling apparatus, the combination With a substantially darkened booth wherein is an operators seat, of means providing an antifriction support for an egg case in iront of the operators seat, a candling light over said means forwardly of the operators seat, a slideway for supporting an egg carton below the light and rearwardly of said case supporting means, an anti-friction support for a filler rack alongside said case supporting means to one side of the operator, there being formed in an adjacent wall of the booth openings through which the egg case and ller rack may be slid on their respective supports, one of said openings conforming to an egg case and the other to a filler rack to be substantially closed respectively by an egg case and ller rack when stopped therein thus maintaining the darkened condition within the booth, an anti-friction support to the opposite side of the operator for a second case, and dual conveyor means one at one end of the carton slideway for moving filled cartons to a distant point and the other at one end of the second case supporting means for removal of cases to a distant point.

3. Egg candling apparatus consisting of a substantially closed darkened booth provided with an inlet opening in a wall thereof for the reception of successively fed lled cases of eggs, said opening being substantially closed by an egg case when positioned therein thereby maintaining the darkened condition within the booth, means extending from a point exteriorly of the booth through the inlet opening and into the booth forming a support along which a plurality of egg cases may be successively advanced into 'the booth and supported in operative position therein, a candlers seat in the booth, and a candling light positioned adjacent the candlers seat and proximate egg case, whereby the Candler, in a sitting position, may candle the eggs from the case.

4, In egg candling apparatus, the combination of a substantially darkened booth having a filled egg case inlet opening conforming to an egg case, means for supporting a succession of egg cases at and within said opening to substantially exclude outside light from the interior of the booth, means for supporting an egg case within the booth in line with the inlet opening, a candlers seat in the booth in front of the last mentioned case supporting means, and a candling light positioned in the booth over the last mentioned case supporting means and forwardly of the candlers seat whereby the Candler, in seated position in the booth, has ready access to eggs in said supported egg case.

PRESTON J. BLACKWELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,198,477 Pfeie Sept. 19, 1916 1,558,014 J aenicke Oct. 20, 1925 

